Federal prosecutors said Thursday that rapper Lil Durk, accused of ordering a murder two years ago in Los Angeles, may be linked to another slaying in Chicago – allegations that helped convince a judge to ordering the Grammy Award winner to remain in jail in connection with his case. process.
At a detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue said the 32-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Durk Devontay Banks, had significant resources and the ability to flee.
Banks’ lawyers had pushed for his release, offering bail secured by $2.3 million in equity in two Georgia homes and $1 million in cash. They also said they would hire 24-hour security guards to ensure compliance with court-imposed conditions.
More than 30 people, including family, friends and Sony Music representatives, packed the courtroom, including the assistant U.S. attorney. Ian Yanniello said Banks “is a powerful and influential man with significant resources.”
“This case is about how he used that power and influence and how he used those resources to promote and perpetuate violence with deadly consequences,” Yanniello said.
Banks is accused of ordering the murder of Tyquian Bowman, a Georgia rapper called Quando Rondo, whose cousin was killed in a botched ambush near the Beverly Center mall in Los Angeles in 2022. Banks has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to an indictment, Banks sought to commercialize the shooting death by rapping about his revenge “with music explicitly referencing audio from a news clip” of Bowman shouting “no, no!” after seeing his cousin’s body.
In court Thursday, Drew Findling, Banks’ attorney, disputed that claim, saying the song prosecutors mentioned was recorded eight months before the shooting.
The prosecutor countered that the indictment “lists significant evidence of Mr. Banks’ involvement.”
In a brief filed Thursday, prosecutors also cited a separate federal case in Chicago involving the killing of Stephon Mack outside a youth center.
A search warrant initially filed under seal in Illinois in April 2023 and filed publicly with redactions on Wednesday alleges that banks “offer[ed] money for people to kill those responsible for his brother’s murder, and most notably, offering to pay money for any gangster followers killed.
Banks’ brother, Dontay Banks, Jr., was shot and killed outside a nightclub in Harvey, Illinois, in June 2021, according to the search warrant.
“Evidence collected in this case also shows that the defendant allegedly placed monetary bounties to solicit additional murders, including that of a witness’s family member,” California prosecutors said in their brief. . “The defendant’s modus operandi is clear: He will use his power, money, influence and any pretrial release to endanger anyone he perceives as a threat, including witnesses in this case.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Illinois said two people have been charged with Mack’s murder: Anthony Montgomery-Wilson and Preston Powell. When asked whether Banks had been or would be charged, the spokesperson declined to comment.
Jonathan Brayman, one of Banks’ attorneys, said after the detention hearing that his client had not been charged in connection with the Chicago shooting and “we don’t anticipate he will be charged.”
“The news coming out of there has nothing to do with us,” Findling added. “Our client had nothing to do with this; this is not part of our case.
At his detention hearing, Banks smiled at his wife and mother, who cried during the proceedings. Banks kissed his wife as U.S. marshals took her away.
“We love you,” his family and friends shouted to him in the hallway outside the courtroom.
